


The Ocean's Sweetheart

by Tayani



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Feel-good, Feelings, Fluff, M/M, Merman!AU, Romance, fear of water, mention of drowning, merman!Goro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-30 20:46:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15759375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tayani/pseuds/Tayani
Summary: Akira is a photographer living in a small, seaside town. One day, in search of a perfect shot, he slips and falls into a particularly dangerous waters; and a mysterious stranger saves his life.Akira finds himself fascinated; and not only because the stranger happens to have a tail where legs should be...





	The Ocean's Sweetheart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Spoofen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spoofen/gifts), [Hewillneverbesatisfied](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hewillneverbesatisfied/gifts).



Akira came to the beach even before dawn this time; hoping against hope that the early hour will result in his lately frequent visits on the sheltered, barren bit of land ending up differently from the last few weeks.

A month ago, he has found this secluded beach. Surrounded by jagged rocks and with treacherous underwater currents swirling against them right under the surface, it was an unwelcoming, dangerous place; but its beauty was enough for Akira that he wanted to eternalize it in a series of photographs. He left his cat on the blanket he spread on the sand and went to hop from one rock to another, in search of the perfect shot. A slip of his foot, a loss of balance, and he plunged into the icy, salt water head-first, his camera disappearing from view as his body has been immediately caught in a current and pulled down, before he could as much as yelp and try to swim up. Seawater flooded his lungs and blinded him; he tried to swim, tried to get out from the grip of the unforgiving ocean, but he no longer knew where up was and where down; everything started to grow dark as his movements ceased, becoming sluggish, his mind hazy.

That was when he felt a pair of hands grasp on his shirt, and the rush of water knocking his glasses – that still somehow remained on his nose up until that point – off, and the next thing he knew, he was coughing and throwing up on the beach, with distant sound of Morgana hissing and mewling and the image being imprinted in his mind; an image of reddish, worried eyes and wet, brown locks circling the most beautiful face he has ever seen. Akira passed out the moment later, and woke up shaking and cold, but alive; and though his camera was still gone, his glasses were set neatly beside him, near where Morgana curled up by his side, as if he tried to keep him warm.

These glasses – more than anything else – made him come back here from then on, again and again. At first, he told himself he was only looking for his camera; however useless it might be after falling into the cold, ocean water. But the blurry memory of the beautiful person looking over him; the memory of hands pulling him out from the watery trap, of worry shining in the brilliant, red eyes; and finally, the glasses which he remembered losing and yet found folded neatly beside himself… it made him certain that these weren’t just delirious thoughts of a drowning man.

Someone had saved him that day. And Akira wanted to know who it was.

First few days, he couldn’t come investigate; laying there, unconscious and wet for who knew how long, resulted in Akira coming down with a bad cold; but as soon as he could leave the house, he found himself going back to the beach, sitting there, snapping pictures, waiting who knew for what. Sometimes, he could almost glimpse something; a flash of reddish-gold and white where he was sure only grey rocks were supposed to be. Sometimes, he would feel as if he was being watched, and would call out, only for the feeling to go away quickly, with suspicious little waves rocking the surface of the water where they shouldn’t have, as if something – someone – dove deep into it from their hiding place. These little moments were what made Akira continue with his visits to the beach; until finally, after a month, just as he has sat down there, something changed.

The eyes were on him again, right from the second he settled down and made a little, dry and safe spot for Morgana to curl up on beside himself. He could feel them, with the way the hair stood up on the back of his neck; but Akira didn’t feel threatened or worried. Instead, he spoke out, voice careful and quiet, as if he was talking to an animal and afraid to spook it.

“…why are you always hiding from me..? I won’t hurt you, you know.”

The eyes; the presence; was still there, and Akira smiled, very slowly moving to pull one knee against his chest as he looked out into the ocean, not trying – for once – to strain his eyes looking for any sign of his silent observer.

“…I know you’re real, even if you won’t show yourself. Whether you’re one of the gods from our legends, or just a human with very strange habits… I know you’re there. I only want to thank you. You’ve saved my life.” Akira chuckled, rubbing the back of his head lightly. “Even though I wish you could have also saved my camera, not gonna lie…”

Just as he has said this, as if it was a sign his silent, unseen companion has been waiting for, Akira saw a tiny, wooden boat emerge from behind one of the rocks furthest from himself. He stared, in disbelief, as the small ship – the size of a child’s toy – made a beeline for the shore, as if something has been pulling it on a string. He recognized the boat. It was exactly the same as the ones his fellow townsfolk would send into the ocean with offerings to the gods, whenever they have been helped or needed to be asked forgiveness. Only this time, for the first time in his life, Akira saw one of these boats return; and instead of flowers and rice and sweets and little keepsakes, there was his camera inside; wet and with its lens broken. The raven stared, slowly moving up and nearing the boat as it reached the shore, taking the camera from it in stunned silence. He looked it over before grinning lightly, and then starting to laugh.

“…thank you! That’s very sweet. It’s never gonna work again, but thank you!”

He heard a quiet splash, and the feeling of being watched vanished; and Akira stopped laughing, instead letting out a little sigh. Still, happiness filled him as he took the little boat and went back to his blanket, setting his camera down onto it. He wasn’t very hopeful, but he still extracted the SD card from it and started to read up on what to do to save it after a fall into the water; perhaps, he could at least salvage some of his pictures out of it…

The next day, Akira came to the beach early once more. The SD card ended up completely broken, together with the camera; even though he kept both, setting them down on a shelf in his house in fond memory. Today, he took the boat with himself again; this time filled, traditionally, with flowers, rice and mochi cakes, and a little, wooden shell on a leather cord; a necklace. Instead of that, Akira would have loved to put some of his most beautiful photos in it; but the rules of what could go into an offering were strict. It had to be, for example, something that would not pollute the ocean, and print-outs of his photos most certainly would.

He waited, petting Morgana lightly, until he could feel the eyes of his silent companion on himself once more. They were late this time, and Akira felt himself smile broadly when he felt the unmistakeable sensation of being watched. Once again, he spoke softly, worried he’d spook his companion again.

“Good morning. Thank you again for returning my camera. I have something for you, as well.”

Slowly, careful not to spook them, Akira carefully moved the boat towards the shore, until it floated on the calm water, before returning to his blanket. The boat remained still for a while, before making a beeline again – this time towards the now-familiar rock – and disappearing behind it without a trace. Akira smiled, waiting for a while. When he didn’t feel the presence disappearing, as it usually would, he spoke to it again.

“…do you like it..? I didn’t know what you’d enjoy, so I just went with a standard. But, if you can tell me if you enjoy something in particular, I can try sending some to you. It’s the least I can do.”

He didn’t expect a reply. Akira understood that whomever the person who saved him was, they didn’t want to be seen or understood. Talking was just an attempt to communicate; to show he didn’t have ill intentions. He did not expect the boat to return to him, with exactly half of rice and mochi cakes gone, and with not a sign of the necklace and all the flowers he put into it. He smiled lightly, tilting his head as he picked the boat up from the water.

“…are you worried I poisoned the food? No need. Look, I’m eating it.” he chuckled, picking up a random mochi and throwing it into his mouth, before doing the same with a bit of rice. There was a quiet splash from behind the rock that shouldn’t have had its source in the waves; and then, to Akira’s shock…

“…how are these called in your language..?”

The words were soft, and spoken in perfect Japanese; though the voice that spoke them was like no other Akira had ever heard. There was an obvious accent; as if the words didn’t come from the place they’d usually come from. It was somewhat… nasal… but not quite. Akira really couldn’t pinpoint why it was different. What he _could_ pinpoint, though… was that it was the most beautiful, sweet voice he has ever heard in his life.

“…which ones?” he asked, his own voice somewhat breathless as he spoke, still unable to believe he was actually talking to the person who saved him. It was a man, the raven realized. The voice, though soft and sweet, was that of a man.

“The round ones.”

“Mochi.”

“Mochi…” the voice repeated, before laughing a bubbly laughter that made Akira bite his lip. A laughter from someone had no business sounding this beautiful. The raven swallowed, trying to think of something to say; anything that wouldn’t end the conversation too soon.

“…do you like them? I can bring you more, if you want.”

“I like the flowers more.” replied the voice, and Akira could be wrong, but he heard a smile in these words. “Even though they die so quickly in the sea.”

“I will bring you more flowers, too, then.”

“You’re very eager to please.” the voice sounded amused again, and Akira looked away, feeling himself blush. He did, didn’t he, he sounded extremely desperate there.

“…you saved my life. Plus, I… I want to meet you more often. Even if you don’t want to show yourself to me…”

“Why did you jump into the water in the first place? Your kind is too weak to swim through the currents here.” came a question, and Akira blinked. _Your kind?_

“…I didn’t jump in, I _fell_ in.” he said carefully. “I was trying to take a good picture of the beach, and I slipped.”

“Hm… humans are clumsy even on land then. I’m not extremely surprised.”

_Humans..?_

“…you’re not… _human_ … then?”

For a long time, there was silence. Akira could still feel his unseen companion was there, but he made him wait. Finally, there was a silent hum, and Akira could hear hesitation in the stranger’s voice when he spoke again.

“…what’s your name?”

“My name..? Uh, Akira Kurusu. You can just call me Akira. What’s yours?”

“…Goro.” the voice replied, before falling silent for a while more. “Can you keep a secret, Akira? From everyone, no matter how close they are to you…? Then again… even if you spoke out, you’d be just considered a madman, I suppose…”

Akira pulled his knee to his chest again, feeling more and more intrigued.

“…I’ll keep your secret, Goro. I promise. Once again… I owe you my life. I wouldn’t betray the trust of someone like that.”

Perhaps what he had said moved his unseen companion; or perhaps, he, just as much as Akira, wanted them to finally meet. Whatever the reason, the raven could see movement from behind the rock; water splashing, and then…

He saw his face first, and recognized it immediately. Goro looked different now, different from the blurred memory, but no less beautiful. He has woven most of the flowers Akira gave him into his damp, brown hair, and they looked like flower crown circling his brows. His features were human, but also different; his skin was paler, and his teeth longer when he smiled slowly, and what was the most striking were his ears; looking more like fins, and reddish-golden-white in colour. His chest was bare and streaked with small patches of scales, and there were golden lines on the sides of his neck that Akira realized were _gills_. And then, his eyes slipped down, and he stared in amazement at the long, beautiful, shimmering _tail_ , the bright, vibrant colours of which seemed to drink in the sun as they caught it, sending speckles of beautiful light across the water.

“…you’re… a merman.” Akira whispered, staring at the man who saved his life in shock.

“And you look very surprised by the fact.” Goro replied with a quiet laugh.

It took Akira a while; to gather himself up enough to actually form coherent words, shake off the surprise – the shock – he felt from seeing something that, was it not right in front of his eyes, he’d laugh off as a legend, an urban myth. For his part, Goro didn’t seem to try and make him gather himself up faster. The merman swam as close as he could without dragging his tail over the sand and laid on one of the flat rocks there, resting his chin on his folded arms. He was watching Akira with – seemingly – as much interest as Akira was watching _him_ with; and he was the one who seemed to find his words first.

“…I always wanted to meet a human.” he hummed quietly, these fin-like ears moving a little bit, folding slightly down in a surprisingly _relaxed_ manner.

“…you did? W-well… I never thought… _you_ were real, but… I did want to see whomever saved me for the longest time, too.” Akira smiled somewhat sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head before scooting a bit closer; and stopping the moment he saw Goro tense up when he noticed his movement; his ears perking up in alert again.

“…I’m not gonna get closer if you don’t want me to.” Akira said gently, sitting back down where he has been stopped and relaxing his body, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible. Goro frowned, as if he was thinking deeply about something, and then splashed his tail lightly in the water.

“Don’t enter the water. That’s how close you can come.” he said finally, nodding to himself, before relaxing again as Akira slowly inched to the set distance, and not a step further. His feet rested just where the waves stopped washing over the sand.

“…I… I don’t even know where to start.” the raven laughed quietly, all but devouring the merman with his eyes. Now that the initial shock has passed, awe overtook his mind. It was like witnessing a miracle; he was truly talking with a creature – with _someone_ – who was a stuff of legend… and was incredibly beautiful at that. “Why do you know Japanese?”

Akira asked the first question he thought of asking, and wanted to hit himself for how stupid it had to sound. Goro only smiled lightly at that, though, his ears folding gently back down.

“We learn human speech when we’re young. It’s easy enough to listen in on you in the shrine or by the port… you humans are very chatty species.”

“Are there very many of you?”

“Quite many. Not as many as you, though.” Goro hummed, before perking up as he raised from the rock, looking over at the blanket with Morgana still curled up and sleeping on it. “…say. This is _cat_ , isn’t it? I always wanted to touch one, but they don’t like water… even when I try giving them nice things to eat, they won’t get into it to come close.” the merman pouted lightly, and Akira felt himself laugh quietly at that.  

“Cats generally hate water, and even these that don’t… I never really seen a cat swim in the sea.” he explained, still chuckling quietly. “But, yes. He’s a cat. His name is Morgana. If… erm, if you ever feel comfortable enough with me coming closer, I can try carrying him over so you can touch him. Granted, he might not be too happy about it.”

“Hm. Perhaps, one day…” Goro hummed again, resting back down and starting to play with his hair, smiling as his fingers touched the flower petals. Akira couldn’t help but stare. All the legends he knew about merfolk said they were beautiful; and that they tempted men with their voices. At the moment, he had no qualms about believing both of these claims. Even if the merman before him wasn’t especially talkative so far, he already felt more than enough tempted.

Goro slipping off from his rock and backing into deeper water pulled the raven out of his thoughts; and he blinked, an expression of disappointment flashing on his face.

“…you’re leaving?”

“I need to, for now.” Goro said with a smile, stopping in his tracks to look at him again. “I will come back, though. I enjoy talking with you. Maybe tomorrow…”

“Wait… why did you save me?” Akira heard himself ask, and saw these brilliant, red eyes look up at him again. He didn’t even think about the question; he only wanted to keep Goro from leaving quite so soon.

“…this is a sanctuary.” The merman explained, voice quiet and careful, as if he weighed his words before speaking them. “For our kind. Your people don’t bother us here; they don’t steal our fish, they don’t try to catch us or kill us, they don’t dirty our water with their garbage. Even if something happens, they ask our forgiveness, and have good manners to thank us when we help them. I was simply returning the kindness your people showed my kind for hundreds of years here.”

“So… _you_ are the gods our legends talk about.” Akira said, feeling excitement rise in his chest. The little, seaside town he spent his whole life in was, indeed, famous for its strict laws and customs tied to its ocean; and famous as the only coastal city in Japan to never have been substantially damaged by any natural disaster. A tsunami could hit the coast right where their little town sat, and the wave would still part and miss them, as it destroyed everything on both sides of them, but never took anything and anyone from the town. No one ever drowned on its beaches; no ship, no sailor went missing on the sea. Goro was right; the townsfolk respected the ocean; and the ocean paid them back.

“I wouldn’t say _gods_.” Goro laughed quietly, showing his teeth as he laughed. Only now, being closer, could Akira really appreciate how different they were from his own, human ones; much sharper, by the look of it, for once.

“Well, that’s what you’re regarded us. But… how? How do you stop all the natural disasters? I can understand making sure no one drowns or no ship gets lost, but…”

Goro simply raised his eyebrow at him and raised his hand; and a little column of water raised together with it, holding up for a moment before splashing back down.

“…obviously, it takes many more merfolk to control such things as a disaster; and much more skilled in magic than I am.” he explained evenly, as if he was talking about the weather. “But that is the gist of it.”

“…right. Not only merfolk exist, magic does, too.”

Goro giggled at that, and Akira decided he just kept hearing prettier and prettier sounds from the merman.

“Overwhelmed?”

“Well, _a bit_ … so, can you tell me more..?”

“Maybe another time, Akira. For now, we need to part ways.”

Akira nodded, staring for a long, long time as the merman backed further away, into the deeper parts of the beach, and then dove down and disappeared, only a flicker of golden-red light remaining of him; the last reflection of light against his tail. Even so, the raven didn’t move; only pulling himself back onto his blanket and curling up there, staring far towards the horizon for hours, until the sun and wind – and hungry Morgana – forced him to finally stand up and make his way back home.

 

* * *

 

The next day, Akira was on the beach before dawn once more; and once more, Goro swam up to him, smiling happily when he noticed the raven brought flowers again. This time, it was Akira who talked; and the merman listened intently as he wove the flowers in his hair once more, giggling to himself happily as he looked at his reflection in the water.

The following day, Akira brought him a mirror; and that gift, though at first met with suspicion, earned him the right to come a little bit closer, so that – if he reached over the waves and Goro reached back to him – Akira could hand him the small mirror himself, without the use of the boat. For good half of their usual conversation time, Goro kept poking and making faces into his reflection, and Akira was simply content with watching, giggling when the merfolk started to fold and unfold his ears and chuckling as he watched them move in his reflection as well.

But it wasn’t until the end of the week that Akira was finally granted the right to come close enough for them to touch; and even that took a long while of negotiating before it was finally granted to him.

“You know…” the raven smiled, standing up from his blanket and coming closer, a little basket of flowers in his hand as Goro emerged from the water and smiled at him, setting his mirror – he never seemed to appear without it these days – on his favourite rock before leaning down on it, looking at Akira. “…I could help put flowers in your hair. Look, I even brought a comb.” Akira showed it to Goro, who frowned, his ears trembling very gently – a sign of suspicion, as the raven has already figured out by now.

“If you let me sit on the rock with you; it’s not like I can hurt you from there, right? I can’t swim as fast as you do.”

“Hm…” Goro hummed, before his ears folded slowly, and his eyes narrowed. “…why don’t you just give me the comb, and I can do it myself?”

“Isn’t it greedy of you?” Akira grinned, set on at least trying to persuade the merman, now that he knew the reaction to his proposal wasn’t too bad at all.

“Hmph. Aren’t you the one who keeps going on about how I saved your life?”

“And you’re the one who told me this was just a payback, so…”

“Tch. Humans are stubborn.”

“Not stubborn.” Akira smiled softly, feeling a gentle blush come over his cheeks. “Just in awe with how beautiful you are… You can’t seriously be this beautiful and _not_ expect me to want to come closer.”

Ah… this seemed to work. Goro frowned and looked away, though his ears moved a little bit, and Akira found himself realizing the merman was flustered, and very much flattered by his words. Finally, Goro sighed, and pushed himself a little bit off the rock; and Akira grinned, waddling through the waist-deep water to it, before carefully setting his basket down on it and pulling himself up to sit on it, too. Goro swam closer once he was settled down and snatched the basket, making Akira laugh as he looked into it like a curious cat.

“…oh, red ones. I like red ones.” Goro grinned brightly, picking up one of the flowers, only to gasp and drop it when – as Akira reached out to take the basket back – their fingers met in the air, pressing against one another. Akira froze up, too, staring.

Unsurprisingly, Goro’s skin was wet; and also a good deal cooler from Akira’s own, feeling… strange, but not unpleasant against his own skin. It was also soft, so very soft, and what was the most surprising… was probably the reaction the merman himself had to them touching.

He didn’t pull away; instead, after the initial shock passed, Goro gasped and moved his hand further in, the flowers momentarily forgotten as he took Akira’s hand, the long fingernails scratching lightly against the raven’s skin as he let him. The webbing between Goro’s fingers was thin and leathery to touch, but not unpleasant; and then, to Akira’s further shock, the merman let out a small sound and tugged his hand closer, pressing it against his cheek and letting out a sound that was a purr if Akira ever heard one as he leaned into the touch.

“So _warm_.” Goro mumbled, his ears trembling gently; though not in suspicion this time, but delight. Akira finally found back his voice – and started to breathe – as this beautiful creature cradled his hand happily, rubbing his cheek against it.

“…and you’re cold…” he whispered, before chuckling, brushing his thumb wonderingly over Goro’s cheek. “But not in a bad way. I… I like touching you.” he mumbled, blushing brightly as he did. Goro smiled and finally let go of his hand; and Akira had to pull it back, as he had no more excuses to keep touching him.

“I like touching you, too. Are all humans this warm? It feels so nice… it’s like laying on a sunny rock.” The merman purred, as Akira took the basket and pulled the comb out of it, beckoning him closer. Goro, now obviously much more relaxed, swam even closer to the rock and turned his back to Akira, so that the raven could start combing his hair. They were different to the touch than humans, too. If Akira had to describe them, he’d think of the kind of seagrass he sometimes found on the beach; thin, but soft and surprisingly easy to comb through, even with Akira trying extra hard to be gentle and careful of the merman’s ears. For his part, Goro seemed extremely happy with the procedure; his ears folding slowly down and his eyes closing as he leaned his head back a bit. Akira smiled, taking the flowers and carefully starting to weave them into the merman’s hair.

“…this feels nice.” Goro hummed after a moment, and Akira chuckled at how relaxed his expression was. And then, the merman opened his eyes and his ears perked up, one of them brushing against Akira’s hand, making him gasp.

“You know, everyone’s been jealous of me lately. There’s no more precious ornament for us than fresh flowers… even though I always lose some of them as I swim home.” he explained, before reaching to the basket and taking one, brilliantly red camellia from it, tucking it somewhat clumsily into Akira’s own hair, upside-down. The raven smiled, finally retreating his hands.

“Are they? I didn’t know. I thought… you’d think pearls and stuff are more precious. They are, to humans.”

“Huh? Pearls?” Goro tilted his head, turning to face Akira and laying back onto the rock, reaching for his mirror to look at his reflection in it, humming happily as he touched the flowers in his hair. “Everyone wears pearls. We throw away the ugly ones. This..?” The merman touched one of the necklaces he wore; one made entirely out of big, beautiful pearls. “Is something any child can get. I only wear them because I like them.” he chuckled quietly, looking into the mirror once more.

“Flowers, though… only after your kind makes us an offering can we get fresh flowers, and they die after few hours underwater. If you’re skilled with magic, you can make them last a bit longer… but even so, to be able to wear them every day, that’s something.” Goro smiled proudly and looked up at Akira, his eyes hooded in what the raven couldn’t define otherwise as seductive little smile.

“Here, it’s the other way around.” Akira explained, somewhat breathlessly. “Anyone can wear flowers in their hair, so hardly anyone does it… but gems, or pearls, for example, that’s hard to get for us.”

“Next time, I’ll bring you a pearl necklace, then.” Goro grinned with a big, toothy smile, and Akira had a sudden urge to touch these sharp, long fangs of his. There was still so much he didn’t know about the merman…

“…just one pearl would be enough.” the raven said quietly, with a soft little smile. “I’ll make a pretty necklace out of it. A string of pearls is something mostly girls wear here, you see.”

“Only girls?” Goro tilted his head at that, frowning lightly. “Why? Can’t males of your kind try to look beautiful?”

“They can… it’s just, it’s somewhat frowned upon by some people.”

“Humans are weird…” Goro sighed, before smiling again a little bit. “ _You_ are a good type of weird, though. I like you…”

Akira felt himself blush softly in response to these words; and he reached out his hand, gently covering Goro’s own with it, smiling as he saw the merman rest his chin against their linked hands, obviously very happy with the warmth.

“I like you, too.”

Despite how much time it took to negotiate Akira being able to get into the water and comb Goro’s hair for him, from that day onwards, he’s been allowed – or even more, _requested_ – to do that every day. Not that the raven was complaining. The softness of Goro’s hair, his delighted purrs and his whole body loosening up under his touch, and the merman’s love of touching his skin and basking in his warmth; it made each and every one of these moments memorable.

And the conversations they had, during long hours on the beach, started to get more interesting, too. Now that they possessed the basic understanding of one another, Akira found they started to dwell onto more complicated, deeper nuances. It was also during one of these moments,  few days later, that Goro started to actually teach him Mermish.

That merfolk had their own language Akira had no troubles believing, if only because of Goro’s heavy – adorable – accent when he spoke Japanese. That their vocal system was different from human, and that had its influence on their language was also easy to predict.

That, as a result, Mermish was pretty damn impossible for a human to learn and speak correctly, however…

“You’re doing it _wrong_.” Goro sighed in frustration, looking up at Akira with a frown. The raven frowned back and looked thoughtful for a moment, before trying again.

“Ghhhhharrrhk.”

“Wrong. Like _this_.” the merman rolled his eyes and let out a sound that – though deeper and gurgling somewhat, Akira was pretty damn sure sounded almost exactly like what he had just said.

“It sounds the same.”

“It doesn’t! I said my name. You said _three-armed-octopus_.”

Akira laughed quietly, shaking his head. He was stubborn, and was definitely going to get it someday. For now, though…

“Look, maybe it’s just impossible to speak and hear Mermish properly if I don’t have ears like yours. They definitely help.”

“Hmph. Excuses. I can speak Human just fine.”

“You have an accent, though.”

“I do not!”

“Yes, you do!”

That was when Goro splashed water in his eyes and Akira laughed again, no matter how much it burnt, even if his glasses shielded him somewhat.

“…anyway.” Goro sighed, slipping unwillingly away from under Akira’s careful fingers dragging through his hair and swimming a little bit away, so that he could comfortably turn to face him. “I think it’d be easier for you if you heard me underwater. We rarely speak Mermish _above_ the surface, you know. Maybe it’s easier to hear the difference.”

Well, that made Akira still.

It wasn’t that he was afraid. Well… not entirely, at least. Goro has given him no reasons not to trust him; and there were no currents here, in this part of the small, secluded beach they had their daily meetings on. He no longer felt squeamish about waddling in waist-deep water to get to the rock they usually sat on together.

But pushing his head underwater, sitting there, under the waves and trying to listen to Goro talk to him… the idea itself made something in Akira’s body tense up in some sort of primal, paralyzing fear. He shook his head decisively and moved up on the rock, curling up there, so that no part of him touched the water anymore. Goro looked at him curiously when he noticed the change, tilting his head.

“…that’s not happening.”

The merman blinked, before starting to laugh. He swam closer, his hands reaching out to touch Akira; tugging at his ankle, pulling him towards the water.

“Come on, it’s not scary! I’ll be there, and it’s just for a moment. Even you humans won’t drown like that.” Goro laughed as he tugged more on Akira’s leg, despite his protests.

“Stop that! Goro, I’m serious, let go, I don’t want to—!”

“Why are you scared? Just come into the water with me…”

Another tug; the merman was stronger than Akira anticipated, and his leg slid into the ocean as he grasped against the rock in panic, feeling his fingernails break and the tips of his fingers bleed as they caught in the sharp edges of the rock. His thigh and side got scraped raw, too, and Akira felt himself fall into water and kicked in panic, feeling his heel dig into flesh, feeling Goro gasp and suddenly pull away, and his own scrapes burn at the contact with seawater. It wasn’t even half as terrifying and painful, however, as the feeling of his head being pushed underneath by the waves. Akira kicked and trashed in panic, kicking himself up from the seafloor and dragging himself out of the water quickly, scrambling back onto the rock, shaking as he sat there. The pain in his hands, leg and side only now truly came to him, and the raven gasped and clutched at his scrapes, rocking himself quietly as he tried to bite back a painful cry. Few meters away, he could see Goro’s head emerging from under water, ears curled down completely and eyes big and fearful and worried as he looked at him. The merman swam hesitantly closer, reaching his hand out, only to freeze in his tracks when Akira snapped at him.

“Don’t _touch me_ … _!_ ”

“…Akira…” Goro said quietly, his lower lip trembling. Akira’s breathing was ragged and uneven and he pulled his bleeding leg to his chest, biting on his knee as he tried to battle the pain somewhat. He looked at Goro, but for the first time, there was fear and distrust in _Akira’s_ eyes, and not the merman’s; and it seemed to be bothering Goro a whole lot.

“Akira, I’m sorry… I didn’t want to hurt you, I… I can help! I can heal that, just let me…”

“I said _don’t touch me_.” Akira sobbed out, backing away from the merman. Slowly, he uncurled himself and – biting his lip at the new wave of pain – slipped carefully into water on the far side of the rock, backing away towards the shore, never looking away from the merman; as if he was afraid Goro will try to swim up to him. Instead, he stayed where Akira stopped him at, looking guilty and in pain, only perking up in alarm when Akira got completely out of the water and started to quickly gather his things, tears now rolling freely down his cheeks.

“Akira!” the merman swam quickly towards the shore; closer than he ever did before, he was almost completely stuck on the shallows by the time he stopped. “Come on, I’m sorry! I promise I won’t try to pull you into water again! Don’t go, Akira, please!”

But Akira didn’t turn around and didn’t look at him; he gathered his blanket and picked Morgana quickly in his flower basket and almost run from the beach; the sand spotted in places with few drops of blood. He didn’t look back and didn’t see as Goro looked after him, looking miserable and rubbing his eyes as he, too, started to cry…

 

* * *

 

After the accident with his Mermish studies, Akira didn’t come back to the beach for a week.

It wasn’t because he was mad, scared or angry. In fact, he wanted to go back as soon as possible. He understood that Goro didn’t want to hurt him, once he calmed down and actually thought through the situation, with cool head and without fear gripping at his heart and pounding in his ears, muting everything around him and forcing him to run.

However, the plunge into water – together with the fact Akira had been spending majority of his time lately dressed in just swimming trunks on a windswept beach – triggered another bout of rather nasty cold, and no matter how much the raven wanted to leave the house, he has been forced to stay indoors and let himself be nursed back to health.

It was hard to explain to his family and friends why was he spending so much time lately wandering the beaches alone, and hardly ever coming back with any photos worth showing for all of his walks. Akira honoured his promise to Goro; he didn’t tell anyone, not Sojiro, not Futaba, not any of his friends what was so enticing that he returned again and again. He didn’t explain where did he get the pearls – shining in colours not seen in their little town, big and beautiful, some of them carved – that he requested the local craftsman to turn into a necklace, and didn’t say why did he keep wearing it at all times, even to shower and to sleep.

He didn’t explain why now, as he laid in bed, shaking in fever, he kept insisting he was fine and that he had to go somewhere, nor where did the long, bloody scrapes over the side of his body come from.

It took a week for Sojiro and Futaba to finally allow for him to leave his bed, and even then Akira felt so weak he barely managed to stumble towards the beach, Morgana for once being left at home. The place wasn’t too far; and yet it took a long time for the raven to get there, and once he finally came near…

The sound was so soft and mournful at first, Akira’s first thought was that it was the wind blowing among the rocks. Only when he came closer, the raven understood what it was and froze in his tracks, his blanket and a small bag he had with himself falling limply onto the sand.

Goro was sitting on the rock he liked so much. With his back to Akira, the merman was singing; a song so soft, so beautiful that the raven started to cry, even as he couldn’t even begin to understand the words. All of a sudden, he felt stronger and warmer; and as he stepped into the water, his scrapes didn’t even sting. Goro whipped his head back the moment he heard him, and the song broke; and the next moment, the merman slipped into the water, swimming towards Akira faster than he could blink. The raven leaned down and felt Goro’s cold arms wrap around him, sitting down in water as he hugged the merman tightly to himself, feeling him shudder.

“Akira… I thought I’ll never see you again…” Goro whispered, shaking quietly in Akira’s arms. “I’m so sorry… I didn’t… I didn’t want…”

“Shhh…” Akira whispered, though it was hard to speak, hard to _think_ , with Goro in his arms, his skin so incredibly soft under his hands, even as the rougher patches of scales scratched against the pads of his fingers. “I know… I’m not mad, I promise. Once I calmed down… I know it wasn’t really your fault. You didn’t know I’d react like that. I’m sorry, too…”

“But you were gone… for so long, I thought…”

“I’m sorry.” Akira sighed softly, shaking his head. “I got sick… turns out humans aren’t really made to be spending time in water and wind and without clothes to warm ourselves with. The shock made my body finally break down, it seems. I only got strong enough to come back to you today.”

Slowly, Goro slipped from his hold; and Akira let him go, not entirely willingly. He went back up to the beach, half-aware of the merman swimming hesitantly after him, up until the shallows. Dutifully, Akira quickly took off his wet shirt and put on a dry one, and wrapped himself in another blanket he brought from home before sitting down. Goro laid on his stomach in the water, closer than he has ever saw him swim. A bit of his tail was sticking out from under the water, he was in such shallow place. All of a sudden, Akira felt truly honoured by how much trust the merfolk has given him.

“I’m sorry for making you sick.” Goro said quietly, and Akira smiled at him softly, reaching for his flower basket. He pushed it towards the merman, who seized it eagerly, brightening up as he saw all the flowers Akira brought him once again.

“Don’t worry about it. I… might have to stay out of the water more for now, though. I need to get completely better, and I don’t really want something like that happening again, so I’ll need to be careful and keep warm, alright?”

“Yes, I understand.” Goro nodded seriously, before smiling softly up at Akira. He started to weave the flowers into his hair already, finally looking less sad and more relaxed, like he did before.

“…you will brush my hair again once you’re better, though, yes?”

Akira laughed at that, his eyes soft and filled with affection as he watched the merman work.

“Yes, of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“And… about you learning Mermish.” Goro said quietly, raising his tail slowly up; like a human would wave their legs in the air. “I still think you need to hear me underwater to really learn it… but I’ll wait until you’re comfortable with it. And when you are…” the merman hesitated for a little bit, before smiling and continuing to talk, his wet bangs obscuring his eyes.

“I thought it was only fair, so… when you decide you’re okay with going under water, I’ll go out on land and sit with you.”

Akira stared at the merman for a long time at that, completely taken by surprise. And then, a soft smile made it’s way onto his lips, and he chuckled fondly, leaning a bit closer to Goro.

“…you just want to finally be able to pet Morgana, aren’t you.”

“Shhh, no one needed to know _that_ …”

It was a short meeting this time; but a much needed one. They spoke quietly, about little things; but in the fact that Goro remained in the shallows to be closer to him, in the fact he refrained from commenting on how weak and stubborn and generally worse than merfolk humans were, Akira realized the merman was trying to change. He was trying to be better for him. And Akira couldn’t explain how much he appreciated it.

It took another week until Akira felt well enough to go in water for any extended period of time again; and the first thing he did was sit on their rock, smiling as Goro almost melted under his fingers, purring quietly as he brushed through his hair, weaving flowers into them for the first time in two weeks. Akira had to say, he missed it, too…

Once he was done, almost without thinking, his hands moved slowly down. He could feel the merman give a soft gasp as he brushed it over his ear, wondering about the foreign feel of it; only to blink when the merman sprung off, blushing as he looked up at Akira, before splashing him with water.

“That was uncalled for.” Goro huffed, only to reach out his own hand. “Now I want to touch, too.”

Akira blinked at him in surprise; slowly slipping from the rock into the water. Though it was only waist-deep, it still made him just a tiny bit nervous after that time.

“…touch what?”

“Your _ear_.” the merman explained, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You can’t even move them, I’m curious how they feel.”

Akira laughed and took Goro’s hands in his, leading them to his ears; yelping quietly when the merman tugged on them gently, only to giggle at Akira’s expression.

“Sorry… I half-expected them to come off.” Goro laughed, before continuing his examination. “…I like how they feel, though. They’re so soft. And your hair are so different from mine, too…”

“Wanna try brushing it?”

“…mhm. Only, for me to reach… Can you sit down in the water?”

Akira hesitated at that; and he felt the merman’s hands caress his cheeks gently before letting go, Goro’s eyes soft and patient as he looked up at him.

“I won’t force you.” the merman promised, and that was enough to calm Akira down. He was able to kneel down on the ocean floor with his head sticking out, though the gentle rocking of the waves and the water surrounding him still made him tense up. He tried his best to calm down. He was not in danger now. There were no currents here, no deep water to suck him in and drown him.

As if reading his thoughts, he felt gentle, cold arms wrap around his chest, and Goro’s chin rest against his shoulder. The merman pressed himself against his back, and all of a sudden, Akira couldn’t breathe for a different reason entirely.

“Don’t be afraid.” he heard the whisper of that beautiful, beautiful voice right in his ear, and felt himself relax immediately. All of a sudden, Akira realized that right at this very moment, he’d quite possibly let Goro push him underwater and drown him, if it only meant he could hear him say something, anything, to him once again…

Gentle, webbed fingers threaded through his hair; and Akira felt the comb scratch gently against his scalp as Goro untangled his messy hair. He let himself relax, noticing how the merman kept himself close, as close as he could; and how his cold body pressed against his own, how the patches of scales and his tail scratched gently against his smoother skin. This was definitely the first for both of them. Akira knew by now how much Goro enjoyed the warmth of his body; but they never touched quite like this, and for quite this long…

Few flowers – the ones left in the basket – found their way into Akira’s hair, and the comb disappearing from the merman’s hands and Goro himself moving a bit away broke the raven out from his trance. He turned quickly in the water, hands gentle as he reached out, resting them on the other’s waist.

“…don’t leave yet.” he whispered, feeling Goro shudder as he leaned into the touch. Was Akira’s – human’s – warmth really this irresistible to him?

“…why?” Goro whispered, though he didn’t move away. Instead, his own hands rested on Akira’s shoulders, the tips of his long, sharp nails pressing gently against the raven’s skin.

“I don’t know…” Akira felt himself say with a breathless laugh, reaching his hands slowly up; smoothing them over Goro’s soft, slick skin, over the curiously rougher patches of scales, up to the side of his neck where he hesitated, fingertips hovering over Goro’s gills.

“…can I?” Akira whispered, and saw the merman swallow thickly before nodding, and he let himself touch; the golden lines on Goro’s neck shuddering gently under his fingers as he did.

They were harder than the rest of the merman’s skin, tougher; like three big, long scales. They were pure golden, too, and Akira found himself fascinated by how they’d open up the moment Goro submerged himself, but close tightly whenever he stuck his head from underwater, allowing him to breathe in air as well as water. Now, however, it was not the mechanics of merfolk breathing that captivated Akira. It was the soft smudge of pink spreading over Goro’s cheeks and the merman trembling as once again, he pressed himself closer to him, a little sound escaping his throat when Akira’s other hand moved further up, fingertips skimming over the leathery surface of his ear.

“D-don’t… that’s…” he murmured, but before Akira could do what he has been told and pull away, Goro wrapped his arms around his shoulders, pulling himself entirely against him, his face hidden in Akira’s neck. His ears were trembling slightly, and Akira could tell, because they tickled his cheek as they did.

“…did I do something wrong?” he whispered, clearing his throat as his voice came out lower and huskier than he intended. Goro’s breathing was slowly growing calmer now; before, Akira realized he felt him pant lightly against his skin.

“…we only allow our partners to touch us there.” Goro explained quietly, and Akira felt his breath catch in his throat. What should he do? Should he apologize? Let go? Ask what the merman had meant? The raven didn’t know, and he found himself giving over to his body, instead, his arms wrapping around Goro’s waist and gently sliding over the side of his tail. It was… completely different from anything he has touched so far. Rougher than skin, but slick and _warm_ , even if colder than his own body…

“…what’s the problem, then?” he said quietly, and felt Goro smile against his skin.

“…do you say stuff like that to all your friends?” he heard the merman whisper, and Akira chuckled, resting his head – extremely gently – against Goro’s.

“No, only the cute mermen that saved my life and put me under a spell.”

“…a spell? I didn’t use any magic on you, though.”

“Ah… but you did.” Akira smiled, swallowing before he closed his eyes and let himself talk, without thinking, without agonizing over every word. He was already in a fantasy world, hugging a merman. There was nothing to think about anymore.

“You’ve put me under a spell from the first time you looked at me. From the first time you’ve let me hear your voice. I hardly know you, and I already know I don’t want to hear anything but your voice nor see anything but you…”

“Charmer.” Goro purred quietly, but from his voice, Akira could hear he was extremely pleased. And then, he felt Goro’s lips on his shoulder, and before he could as much as shudder, there were his teeth instead; sharp and painful with curiously sweet pain as they sunk into his flesh lightly, letting go almost immediately after as the merman pulled away, swimming a bit back from the stunned human.

“…I like you, too.” he whispered, wine-red eyes focused on the lightly bleeding wound on Akira’s shoulder; one that quickly started to sting as hell the moment salt water reached it. It wasn’t like Akira cared much, though.

“I never met a human, but I saw a lot of them… they’re boring. You’re different, though. You’re kind and interesting, and pretty…” Goro smiled, and Akira felt himself return the smile. “I want you all for myself. So keep coming to the beach, alright? And I will keep coming, too. And you can’t ever have anyone but me like this.”

“…very well.” Akira smiled, his face glowing red, but eyes shining in happiness. And then, he laughed, squinting at his bleeding shoulder. “…are you going to bite me every time we meet now?”

“If you like that.” Goro purred, and Akira felt himself bite his lip. The merman knew how to tease, apparently. “But, no. This is a precaution, you see.”

“A precaution..?”

“We’ve agreed you’re mine.” the merman purred softly, swimming up to the rock and picking his mirror, starting to look at himself in it with a soft, self-satisfied expression on his face. “I don’t like sharing my things.”

Akira rolled his eyes at that, before following the merman and gently cupping his cheek with his hand, smiling as he saw Goro lean immediately into the touch, curling into it like a kitten.

“Very well. Then let me have a _precaution_ as well…” he whispered and leaned in, sensing Goro’s surprise and then tasting his delight as their lips met, the merman’s sharp fangs scraping over his lower lip in the most delicious way possible. Akira felt Goro’s arms wrap around his shoulders and felt himself lean down; the two of them slipping under the waves, the flowers from their hair swirling in the water around them. Akira parted his lips and felt Goro do the same; and he bit lightly on the merman’s lower lip, too, pulling out a sharp gasp from him that somehow sounded even better underwater.

 _You’re mine_ , it said. And Akira moved up, emerging from the water and catching his breath before kissing Goro again, tasting their blood mixing on their tongues.

_You’re mine, yes. And I’m yours…_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this story! If you enjoyed it, you can find me on twitter for new stories updates, writing process and art retweets [@mikan_writings](https://twitter.com/mikan_writings)
> 
> This story has amazing artwork created by Spoof! You can see it [here](https://twitter.com/spoofen_art/status/1014583403012919301) and [here](https://twitter.com/spoofen_art/status/1008369470975479809)!


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